24 Hours

3:46 A.M

Yamaguchi:

He had felt something when he landed on the grass besides Tsukishima, breathing deeply. Other than his entire body screaming out at him for deciding to jump out of a plane, there was something else. He had felt some sort of warmth- a happy, giddy feeling that churned in his stomach. In a good way, of course, nothing like the horrible churning in Tsukishima's stomach that made him throw up.

Now, Yamaguchi helped his poor friend out of the room and towards a vending machine outside. The strange feeling he had felt in the Simulation was slowly fading away, and Yamaguchi wondered where it had come from. He could still feel it sitting in the depths of his body, but he wasn't quite sure about it.

Tsukishima groaned and slumped down in a chair, massaging his temples.

"Heights and jumping from a plane doesn't work well together," he said.

Yamaguchi laughed and patted his friend's back. Tsukishima passed him some coins which Yamaguchi placed in the vending machine and punched in the numbers. He was horribly guilty that Tsukishima had been paying for everything. He reminded himself to get to a bank as soon as possible and put all his savings into Tsukshima's account. What did it matter anyway? He was going to be dead.

"Well, you did it," he said, and Tsukishima chuckled.

There was a clinking sound as the machine let out a bottle of water. Yamaguchi reached through the lid, taking the bottle and handed it to Tsukishima. Their fingers brushed against each other momentarily, and Yamaguchi found himself focusing on it a little more than he should.

"Yeah, I did. We did." Tsukishima shook his head, still laughing to himself. "I wouldn't ever do it again, but damn, it was amazing."

He drank deeply from it and exhaled slowly in relief. He sat down on a nearby bench, and Yamaguchi gladly sat besides him.

"Goddammit, what did I even throw up?" he said, setting his glass down. "The last time I ate was..."

The two boys fell into a silence as they recalled the last time they'd eaten. Yamaguchi realized it was quite late- or early- and the last time he had food was back in the hospital. He met Tsukishima's eyes just as his stomach rumbled loudly. Tsukishima smirked.

"C'mon, I'm even more hungry after throwing up-"

"You know I'm not letting you forget that-"

"Oh, shut up, Tadashi," teased Tsukishima.

"Let's go to the local diner," said Yamaguchi. "I know a place."

*

Before Yamaguchi got sick, he worked in Tokyo at an electronic's company. He'd always finish work late at night where most good restaurants were closed except for this diner that sat on the outskirts of Tokyo.

The diner was a 24/7 opened place, and it was mostly empty except for a drowsy waiter, who Yamaguchi regonized from all his previous nights coming here. She was shuffling around and pouring coffee for an old man. The diner was a simple, classic area. It had tiled black and white floors with wooden tables that had red, cushioned benches. Up front was a long, black table with stools where the two boys took seats.

"Right with you!" the waitress called, not looking up as she slid the coffee mug for the man.

She was a short girl with her long brown hair whipped up in a bun. There were whisps of hair framing her round cheeks. She turned around and looked up. Then, her eyes widened.

"No way! Yamaguchi, what's up?!" Her exhaustion seemed to vanish away as soon as she saw Yamaguchi, and she scurried over.

"Hey Aiko," he said, grinning to see her. He couldn't help but notice Tsukishima's lips pull in a slight frown.